Superstar veteran winemaker Robert Brittan left behind his 30 years at Far Niente and Stags’ Leap Winery in Napa to fulfill his dream of making Pinot Noir from unique sites in cooler climates — and we are glad he did! This is an amazing wine drinking experience not to be missed!!
2011 Brittan Vineyards Pinot Noir Basalt Block
Willamette Valley, Oregon $294 6pack
94 Points Wine Advocate
“Brittan’s 2011 Pinot Noir Basalt Block delivers an impressively sappy and dense, vibrant and buoyant combination of tart red currant and blackberry with clean red meat juiciness; salt; crushed stone; and somehow, mysteriously crystalline traces. Such a range of complexity across fruit, animal, and mineral dimensions in such a still youthful wine is among the striking aspects of Brittan’s and his vineyard’s talents, as is their sense of energy, which unsurprisingly is almost palate-shaking on the present occasion, kinetics being another forte of the 2011 vintage. The tannins here are ultra-fine (even if the corresponding Gestalt Block bottling goes them one better!) and the finish is every bit as mouth-coating as it is vibratory. I suspect this will continue to impress through at least 2022.”
2013 Maison L’Envoye Two Messengers Pinot Noir Willamette Valley $168 6pack
2012 Cristom Mt Jefferson Pinot Noir Willamette Valley $192 6pack